Apparatus for slicing ham on the bone



y' A H. J. .HOENSELAAR 2,470,078

APPARATUS FOR 'SLICING HAM ON THE BONE Filed Sept. '7, 1944 I J. 5 2.9 326, 0 f INVENTOR' 2a Harry J. hoens/aar Y z I M ATTORNEYS Patented May 10, 1949 UNITED STATE OFFICE APPARATUS FOR SLICING HAM ON THE BONE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to the slicing of meat, to apparatus for slicing meat, and to hams andother joints of meat in a new form. The invention will be described with particular relation to the slicing of a ham but it will be understood by butchers that there are many other joints of meat which can be sliced with equal facility by this apparatus.

In the meat industry there is a large market for sliced meats, particularly for ham slices, but the bone construction and the shape of a ham is such that no wholly satisfactory method of slicing it exists. This statement also applies to legs of lamb and other like cuts of meat.

It is an object of the invention to provide a method and a machine for slicing ham and other joints, which are of exceptional efiiciency in op eration. Another object of the invention is to prepare ham for the market in a new and superior form.

The invention contemplates mounting the ham upon its leg bone, turning the ham about its leg bone as an axis, and slicing it as it turns. The invention includes the sliced joints which are produced by this process. The invention also includes the apparatus for accomplishing the process and producing the product.

The objects of the invention as to apparatus are accomplished generally speaking by a machine which has means to grip the ham for rotation about its axis, means to rotate it, means to slice it as it turns, and means whereby the slicing may be made continuous.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals denote like parts, is diagrammatically shown an apparatus capable of carrying out the process, a ham before slicing, and a, ham in the new form. It is to be understood that this apparatus is illustrative, not a limitation.

Fig. 1 is diagrammatic view of a ham showing the leg bone and the aitch bone.

In Fig. l, a ham H] has leg bone ll, joints l3,

I4 and aitch bone i2. Before the ham is sliced, the aitch bone is preferably removed.

In mounting the ham for rotation about its leg bone as an axis the mounting means are preferably seated in the ends of the leg bone. The

mounting means may be retractable and revoluble shafts provided with prongs of sufficient length to penetrate the meat and enter the joints of the leg bone.

Figs. 3 and 4 show a frame having members til, 55, t6 and ll which constitute a firm support for the working parts of the apparatus. The element ll of the supporting frame is bowed medially as shown in Fig. 4 to provide space for the rotation of the ham Ill, is pivotally mounted on support 69 by disk-shaped end 4!; and is extended at ti to form a handle which rests upon and may be fixed to the frame member 66 when the apparatus is in operation. Projecting outwardly from the member 65, as shown in Fig. 4, are two retractable studs 36 upon which the wing nut is removably mounted by means of holes in wings 3t, 3d. The shaft 32 is mounted in the nut 33 by means of screw threads, and has a sliding fit over the rectangular post M which projects from and is driven by the gears in the reduction gear box 39. The motor 20 which is mounted upon a standard motor support, not shown, drives the gears in the gear box 30 through shaft 'lli.

Above the tubular shaft 32 is a shaft 3i which is revolvably and slidably mounted in guide Ml, and at its upper end is rotatably mounted in a slot in the end of lever 38. At the lower end of shaft 3? and at the upper end of shaft 32, as shown in Fig. 3, are prongs 36', and 35 respectively which serve to penetrate the ends of the leg bone of the ham.

The tubular shaft 32 and nut 33 can be removed from the drive shaft 3! by withdrawing the studs 3'6 from the wings 34 of the nut 33, and sliding the tubular shaft off the drive shaft. The nut and shaft set 32, 33, once withdrawn, may be replaced by another nut and shaft set having a different pitch to the screw threads, so that the rate of advance of the tubular shaft through its cooperating nut may be changed to provide meat slices of selected thickness.

In Fig. 3, the variable speed reversing motor 20 is shown to be operably connected through a pinion gear 2! on shaft 10 with a driven gear 22 mounted on shaft 23 carried in bearings H, 12 on supporting member 60. On the upper end of the shaft, as seen in Fig. 3, a disk 24 is connected through a stud 25 near its rim and a driving link 2!] to end 28 of knife blade 21. The speed of the motor and the ratio of gear teeth in gears 2| and 22 determine the speed at which the disk and stud are rotated and the knife blade is reciprocated.

The knife blade 2'! is held under tension by a modified bucksaw turnbuckle mounting. Arms 42, 42 are pivoted at their midpoints by a pin and slot connection 56 to the brace ll which forms part of the support. The arms d2 carry the blade 21 and the turnbuckle 61 at opposite ends. Adjusting the turnbuckle -varies the tension on the blade. By means of the springs 15, 35 enough pressure is applied to the blade to hold the blade yieldingly against the bone during cutting without manual control, The pressure applied to the knife blade can be varied by changing the tension of the springs, or by changing the springs to others of different strength. An operator may control the cutting manually through the pivoted brace 4| and its handle M". Upper and lower guides MI, 40' which are mounted on the brace ll serve as bearings for the blade and lend it the support necessary for the cutting of very thin slices.

When cutting single slices the blade 27 may be at right angles to the axis of revolution of the ham, but the blade is more advantageously placed at an angle to the axis of the bone when cutting spiral slices or continuously. This may be accomplished by placing shims of appropriate thickness beneath one pair of the guides til, Ml, as shown in Fig. 5, or by mounting the brace 1 at the selected angle. In Figure 5, ll is the sup-- port, 16 is a sleeve carried thereby, it are shims, and H is a bolt that holds guides, shims, sleeve, and support in assembled relation.

The ham may be prepared for slicing by removing the aitch bone l2, and mounting the ham in the apparatus. It is not essential but it is preierable to remove the aitch bone. The apparatus is prepared to receive the ham by swinging the brace 4| and knife 21 out of operating position, retracting the mountin shaft 32 by reversing the motor 29, and lifting the shaft 31 by means of the lever 33. The end I3 of the leg bone is seated upon the prongs 35 of the sleeve 32, and shaft 37 is lowered until prongs 35 are seated in the upper end I4 of the leg bone. The apparatus is now ready for slicing. The motor is run until the upper end of the leg bone is about even with the knife, and the knife is swung into operating position. The motor reciprocates the knife, rotates the drive shaft 3!, and turns the sleeve 32, which makes its way upward through the screw threads of the nut 33, simultaneously rotating the ham and advancing it past the knife. The shaft 31 rotates freely in guide '28 and slot d? in the end of the lever 38, and moves upward as the leg bone is raised.

As the cutting progresses the meat is left in place by the blade and at the conclusion of the operation, when the ham has been sliced com pletely down to the end of the bone it, the ham still retains its external form but is in a slice which, if carefully unwound, is continuous. The thickness of the slice is determined by the pitch of the threads of elements 32, 33. By changing those elements to similar ones havin a difierent pitch slices of different thickness are produced. In general, cooked hams can be sliced thinner than uncooked hams.

A particularly advantageous part of my invention is in this that a cut ham, or other like joint, 7

pleted the leg bone may be removed by the packer without disturbing the shape of the harm. The ham may be supported by a winding of cloth or cellophane during the removal of the bone. With or without its bone, the ham may be packed and shipped to market with its form intact but its meat in slices. This has not only a basis of utility but a very great sales appeal, because meat similarly prepared is unknown to the trade,

The invention has other advantages which will be apparent to butchers and to the packing industry.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the specific embodiments thereof except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a meat slicing machine for slicing a joint of meat having a bone extending longitudinally therein, the combination of: means for mounting the joint upon said bone as an axis about which to revolve the joint, reciprocating knife for slicing the joint, means for supporting said knife at an angle other than to the axis of the bone to enable a spiral out to be made in the joint. means for longitudinally reciprocating said knife st the joint, means for tensioning said reciprocating knife against the joint, and means for simultaneously rotating the joint and advancing it past the reciprocating knife as the joint is cut.

2. In a meat slicing machine for slicing a joint of meat having a bone extending longitudinally therein, the combination of means for mounting the joint upon said bone as an axis about which to revolve the joint, a reciprocating knife for slicing the joint substantially crosswise to said bone, means for supporting said knife at an angle other than to the axis of the bone to enable a spiral cut to be made in the joint, means for longitudinally reciprocating said knife against the joint, and means for coincidently rotating the joint and advancing it, in a direction axially of the bone, past the knife as the joint is out.

HARRY J. I-IOENSELAAR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Herring June 27, 1876 Whittemore Mar. 6, 1883 Boutell June 25, 1889 Grail Feb. 5, 1901 Jennings June 7, 1910 1,079,778 Linkiewicz Nov. 25, 1913 1,217,717 Decker et a1. Feb. 27, 1917 1,281,250 Ewell Oct. 8, 1918 1308,8153 Pappy Jan, 17, 1922 1,772,658 Black Aug. 12, 1930 1,798,938 Scott et al lilar. 2 1-, 1931 2,890,234 Robinswitz Aug. 17, 1937 2,140,162 McKee Dec. 13, 1938 2,242,451 Carpenter May 20, 19 11 2,3 i9fi65 Rupin May 23, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 500,457 Great Britain Feb. 9, 1939 

